This invention relates to a system for providing assistance to wireless phone callers, and more particularly, to a wireless phone and GPS-based assistance system.
As is now common, central dispatch offices are utilized in the provision of roadside assistance through the utilization of an 800 number. Upon dialing a predetermined 800 number from a wireless phone such as a cellular phone, the central dispatch office, through the utilization of its database, can direct the motorist to a variety of different services. For instance, the central dispatch service can provide information as to the nearest towing service, the nearest gas station, the nearest theatre, the nearest drug store, or, in fact, any service of interest to the motorist for which the dispatch office has information in its database.
Moreover, with databases utilized at the central dispatch office, it is possible to keep medical records of individuals owning the phone on file so that in the case of a vehicular accident, these files can be accessed and the appropriate information can be given to rescue authorities.
One of the major drawbacks with the respect to such a system is that there is currently no easily implemented way to provide information as to the whereabouts of a vehicle. While, GPS-based systems exist for in-car mapping and other position related applications, such a system is not readily available to every motorist without an extensive retrofit of the vehicle and corresponding cell sites, making such systems infrastructure intense. It is in fact a daunting task to be able to provide GPS-based services by providing a GPS receiver in every motor vehicle, much less on a cost effective basis. Thus, it is only with reluctance that automobile manufacturers are providing automobiles with GPS receivers and antennas.
In the subject system, the problem of providing a cost effective means of providing roadside or other services is implemented by informing central dispatch offices of the location of a vehicle through the utilization of a wireless phone having an associated GPS receiver, antenna, and voice synthesis capability for transmitting not only the identity of the vehicle, but also the location of the vehicle in English or other spoken language.
In one embodiment, the phone is located in a handsfree cradle having service-request buttons to cause the phone to dial the central dispatch office with a service request and location of the phone. Through a synthetic voice announcement, when the phone calls the central dispatch office, the verbally announced information is processed by an operator, at which point the latitude and longitude of a vehicle is recorded. The ,central dispatch office then correlates the position of the vehicle with the services requested, with a match being performed to provide the identity and/or address of the nearest local service provider either to the dispatch operator or to the operator of the motor vehicle.
Thus, when traveling in unfamiliar territory, one need only press a button on the handsfree cradle of the phone, at which point the central dispatch office is dialed, and after synthetic voice communication with the dispatch office to indicate the location of the vehicle, two way verbal communication may be established to permit the driver to ask for whatever service he or she wants. This can be taken care of by the dispatch office, or the caller can be directly linked or patched to the service provider. Alternatively, the handsfree cradle may be provided with a number of different service related buttons such as xe2x80x9cGas Stationxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cPharmacyxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cFoodxe2x80x9d, etc. so that these service providers are directly dialed.
As will be appreciated, the subject system provides the central dispatch office not only with the location of the caller, but also the nature of the requested service. This being the case, should a motorist be in an unfamiliar city and seek a particular service, with the touch of a button, the wireless phone is made to dial the central dispatch office, which in turn can either route the call to the appropriate service provider, or provide information back to the motorist so that the motorist can be directed to the service provider and/or the contact the service provider himself.
In one embodiment, the wireless phone is available as a unitary device with service-request buttons thereon. Alternatively, when utilized in a vehicle, the phone may be placed in the aforementioned handsfree cradle that has one or more service-request buttons on the cradle.
Note that in one embodiment, the cradle is provided with a passive transfer antenna to couple the relatively weak GPS signals from an active GPS antenna mounted outside the car to the internally carried GPS antenna in the phone. The result is to be able to receive the relatively weak GPS signals within the body of the vehicle through the utilization of the transfer antenna, with the transfer antenna being mounted at the handsfree cradle adjacent the GPS antenna that is carried by the unitary phone.
The abovementioned handsfree cradle communicates the fact of a service-request button push to a printed circuit board within the phone, with the printed circuit board carrying a CPU, a speech synthesizer and a dialer. The board is connected to the phone bus which is also connected to the handsfree cradle such that when the phone is placed in the handsfree cradle, the service-request buttons cause the phone to dial the appropriate number with the appropriate message and position of the phone. As a result, with a single button push at the handsfree cradle, one or more services can be requested through the corresponding switch closure being transmitted to the CPU on the printed circuit board within the phone. When the switch closure is sensed, the phone is made to dial a predetermined number followed by transmission of the corresponding message.
It will be appreciated that any number of service-request buttons may be placed on the handsfree cradle such that the nearest gas station, the nearest pharmacy, or the nearest grocery store can be requested through the dialing of a separate number associated with each of the buttons. In another embodiment, a single xe2x80x9cConciergexe2x80x9d button is provided to enable the central dispatch office to call the appropriate service provider directly, and as an added service, pass the call through to the service provider. As such a location-dependent concierge service is provided. In summary, either through a single Concierge button or with multiple specific service-request buttons, the motorist can be given the services that he or she desires due to the provision of the caller""s location from a GPS receiver at the phone.
It will be appreciated that the service can be provided either by the central dispatch office which takes care of the individual needs of the motorist, or the motorist can merely be put in touch with the service provider through a direct link of the cell phone call to the service provider. What will be apparent is that regardless of the form the service takes, the transmission of latitude and longitude provides a unique way of selecting the closest service provider.
While the subject invention relates to wireless phones in general, for convenience, the remainder of the description of the invention will center on its use with cellular phones. It will be appreciated that utilizing an existing cellular telephone and an internally carried GPS engine also solves the problem of economically providing a GPS receiver within a vehicle, since the cost of the cellular phone along with the GPS receiver is bourn by the carrier and ultimately by the consumer on a monthly charge basis. The above enables a cost effective method of providing roadside assistance, while at the same time providing normal cellular communication through the utilization of a standard cellular phone modified with the GPS-based location system. The above also permits emergency signalling to public service access points or PSAP""S as to the location of an accident or other emergency.
As will be seen, in one embodiment a unitary cellular phone is provided with an internal GPS engine, an internal GPS antenna, and an internal printed circuit board having a speech synthesizer for providing a verbal rendition of the latitude and longitude of the cellular phone, along with a dialer which is coupled to the cell phone bus to control the functioning and the modulation of the cellular phone.
While the above has described a unitary cellular phone with a GPS receiver, a speech synthesizer, a CPU and a GPS antenna within the cellular phone, in an alternative embodiment, the GPS receiver, the location/speech circuit including speech synthesizer and CPU, and an external GPS antenna may be provided in the abovementioned handsfree cradle. In this embodiment, circuits within the cradle cause the phone to dial and provide modulation of the phone with a verbal message through the normal bus structure of the cellular phone. As a result, standard cellular phones can be modified through the utilization of such a handsfree cradle to provide the needed location function.
It will, therefore, be appreciated that the GPS receiver and the speech synthesizer and dialer board may be carried in the handsfree cradle rather than within the cellular phone. The information from the GPS unit is provided, in this instance, to the CPU that is coupled to the speech synthesizer which couples the speech synthesizer output to the microphone input to the cell phone bus. The dialer board causes the phone to dial the indicated number by appropriate signalling over the cell phone bus. In this manner, by providing a handsfree cradle with a GPS receiver and speech and dialer board, vehicles can be retrofitted readily and inexpensively to provide a location-dependent request for services.
Whether the cellular telephone is a unitary device or whether the GPS receiver and other circuitry are built into the handsfree cradle, a cost effective system is provided to enable dispatch offices to correlate the position of a vehicle with the service required.
While the above has been described in connection with vehicle related services, it will be appreciated that taking the cellular phone out of the car and providing it with a service-request button can provide the non-motorist with a means of obtaining services that the individual might want. For instance, when a pedestrian in an unfamiliar city is seeking the nearest drug store, a Concierge button on the unitary cellular phone can provide the central dispatch office with the same information as described above, regardless of whether or not the GPS-based cellular phone is within a vehicle.
It will also be appreciated, while the subject system has been described in connection with a synthetic voice annunciation of the position of the phone, digital systems involving digital signalling of the same information are within the scope of this invention.
In summary, a wireless phone based system is provided to accommodate users of phones for transmitting information as to the location of certain services such as gasoline stations, movie theatres, drug stores, etc., in which the phone includes a GPS receiver with the phone adapted to call a predetermined number requesting the desired service and providing the location of the phone. In one embodiment for vehicular applications, the GPS receiver is co-located with the phone, with the phone being carried in a handsfree cradle having a number of service-request buttons, such that depression of a service-request button activates the phone through its bus structure to call a predetermined number and provide the identity of the caller along with the caller""s location. In a further embodiment, a single button is utilized to cause the phone to dial a concierge service, in which the concierge service has operators and a database, such that the operator to direct the caller to whatever service the caller desires having been apprised of the location of the phone, this to allow the operator can key in the latitude and longitude of the phone and access the database of services both as to the type of service and as to the location of the closest service provider.